Hand Sewn Knitted Wallet

I don't toot my own horn very often, but I do want to say that this wallet is probably one of the coolest things I've ever made. I can't stop taking it out and looking at it.
I wanted a wallet that functioned like my husbands, but I also liked the wallet I had bought for myself. Namely because it had a change purse and the photo ID slot was More easily accessible. I also wanted a wallet to match my new purse I made earlier this week.

I was also able to make this wallet using scrap yarn and scrap fabric, so that the cost for me was free.

To make this wallet, you will need:

Pattern (provided below)
Knitted outer shell (pattern provided below) 8" x 4"
1/2 yard of fabric
1 sheet of thin sturdy cardboard or plastic
Masking tape
Clear Plastic piece for the photo ID pocket
Needle and Thread
Decorative Button
4.5" zipper

The pattern for the knitted shell of your wallet is thus:
On size 3 needles, using bulky yarn *(I used Homespun by Lion Brand) -
Cast On 35 stitches
Odd rows: P2, K33, P2
Even rows: P
Knit approximately 24 rows, or until you have a swatch that is 8 inches wide and 4 inches tall.


Here is the pattern for the sewn portion. It is in PNG, you need to click on the thumbnails and bring up the larger image. Right click on them and save them to your PC. There, you can print them through any drawing program, like Window's Paint. Make sure that you configure your page set-up to print portrait style, not landscape, and that you have the image stretched to fill up the page, and your paper size is Letter 8.5" x 11".
Once printed, measure the red brackets to see that they are indeed an inch. I have also placed the dimensions of the pattern pieces on them, you can draw them yourself with a ruler if you cannot print these off.

*****

 

 

Now that you have your outside of the wallet knitted and your fabric pieces cut to size, it's time to assemble. I apologize for the crummy pictures. I was working quickly.

 

1.

 

Fold the raw edges of your back lining piece (4.5" x 8.5" under, and pin them to the back side of your knitted fabric. Sew this in place.

 

2.

 

Take another piece of fabric that you cut 8.5" x 4.5" and fold the raw edges in on the long sides. Use one of your cardboard/plastic squares that you cut as a guide for this, as you will be folding this up inside of your fabric. Once you have pressed the raw edges in, fold the fabric in half as shown in the second photo and use your needle and thread to hand stitch along the top and bottom of this piece. This is going to be the flap that will eventually hold your photo ID and other cards.

 

3.

 

Sandwich your flap in between the two pieces that are written "front of billfold" (4.5" x 5") with right sides together, and sew along the raw edge. You want to sew this very securely with a machine or small close stitches as this will take a lot of wear.

 

4.

 

 

On each of your six 4.5" x 3" card slot pieces, press the top edge down by a quarter inch. You may wish to sew but because I was hand stitching, I cheated and used a bit of masking tape.

 

5.

 

Assemble your card slots, by stacking 3 of them together with approximately 1/4" staggering. Fold the sides of these assemblies in and the bottom of them up. Press them with an iron and then pin them to the inside of your assembled wallet pieces. I chose to have one on the back "page" of my wallet and one on the back side of the flap. Sew these into place.

 

6.

 Fold the edges of your 1.5" x 4" piece under and press them down.

I sew them onto your clear plastic piece (I took mine from an old wallet) by first sewing on the bottom and top pieces - then the two sides.

The side strips are sewn on last, so that the edges can be folded under the top and bottom pieces. When you sew this assembly onto the flap of your wallet, only sew along the top and bottom of it.

 

 

7.

 

 Fold the bottom/top edges of your two change purse sections under, press them.

 

Pin them to your closed zipper and sew them down.

 

Fold the outer raw edges under, press them with an iron and pin then sew them to the remaining "page" of your wallet assembly.

It is helpful to undo the zipper partially and sew the zipper together near the end with a couple of stitches. You will cut these stitches after the piece is sewn on so that the zipper can fully close.

 

 

8.

 

 Lay your final 8.5" x 4.5" piece of fabric face
down on top of your wallet assembly and sew along the top of it, keeping your seam parallel with the card slots, flap and top of the change purse and not sewing over them.

Open up the seam and place your two remaining cardboard/plastic supports inside of them. Fold the top section down and press with an iron. Top stitch down the center of your assembly right between the gap of the two support cards. This will:
a. bind the two pieces of fabric together more securely.
b. prevent the cards from shifting and overlapping.
c. You will sew down the back side seam of your ID slot.

 

9.





 

Fold the raw edges of your wallet assembly under and press them flat. Pin this to the lining of your knitted shell, and sew it along the two sides and the bottom. Your support pieces should be pressed upwards into that top seam as firmly as you can so that they will be completely snug as you sew along the bottom.

 

10.

 

You're nearly done now! Knit or Crochet a loop to one side of your wallet, and sew your decorative button onto the other side so that your handy new wallet will stay closed inside your purse or handbag.

 

 

 

 

 

Add all of your stuff to it and you're ready to go!



 



Decorative Storage Boxes

I first made these boxes about ten years ago when I was in desperate need for storage and only had leftover moving boxes and some tape. Urrrrgly. I realized last week that all of the assorted trinkets I plan to get the girl for Christmas this year are going to wind up mixed up in her toy box or scattered all over the house. While making the boxes, I decided that I can now spend the next few weeks until Christmas, slowly filling them up with things made or inexpensively bought. One box, for instance, will hold a collection of beads that will be both made and glass beads, as well as some beading string and wire. Another will hold doll clothes I am going to make out of my fabric remnants. Another will hold coloring books and crayons and various art supplies. And I'm sure Daddy will want to buy a few things for his princess as well.

              Once filled (and once we put up our tree) they will serve as gift boxes. No need for wrapping paper. No more disaster of a living room with scraps of wrapping paper, tape and bows for Mom to clean before prepping the Christmas ham. I win! I win four times because each child will be getting their own assortment of boxes (can you add free?) under the tree this year, which will give them all desperately needed storage in the new year.

Materials: Assorted boxes, or pieces of Corrugated Cardboard.
                Masking Tape
                Paste
                Cheap Paintbrush
                Different kinds of papers
                Embellishments
                White Craft Paper (only if you want to line them).
                Craft Paint

                Elmer's Glue (for gluing on large things).

For papers, I just found stuff around the house. You can also use torn fabrics, so long as they don't have any stretch to them. Silks and flannels work nicely. Here I used a brown paper grocery bag, a book (desecration, I know, but it's an awful book and already missing several pages), tissue paper, gift wrap, and I wound up using white crafting paper also.

My embellishments were things I found in my yard. Rose petals, Marigolds, even a weedy flower. Craft paint also works well to decorate after the paste dries.

Now I just used things around my house, but those who scrapbook can tell you that the scrapbooking isle of your local craft store has an amazing assortment of beautiful papers, ribbons, buttons and all of the glue-on stickable things you can imagine to make your boxes fit any decor. Also, I just used some old cardboard we had in the garage. If you want, you can do this with your old shoe boxes to save time. Just make sure you use corrugated cardboard on the sides of round boxes.

The first thing I did was make the boxes. It was easy, I just cut out the pieces for the top and the bottom, and strips for the side. It is important, you want the lid a little bigger around than the box. Half a centimeter, roughly. Don't worry if your box looks beat up like mine does, you're gonna cover the ugly up.
Next, make your paste. I prefer paste to glue because it's cheaper and rinses or wipes off easily. I'm going to get it all over my fingers, so I like to keep a sink full of water ready to rinse off in. The recipe for paste is very simple. 1 part flour to 4 parts water, put it in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

A brown paper grocery bag, painted with two colors of craft paint (one white and one purple), then spattered with silver makes a nice effect.

When you tear the paper into pieces, you get a rough brown edge to them. I used this for the heart shaped box and glued some marigold petals to the top of the lid.

  Pages of a book go nicely with the rose petals, but I had a hard time getting the petals to stick with the paste. Probably would have been easier if I had waited for the box to dry, then glued them on with Elmers glue. This book had some nice "Old Hollywood" looking pictures in it that would have been very glamorous. I have saved them for later, the would be perfect for a dress up box. I also thought that printing off some old family photos in a sepia tone would look nice with this, for a family heirloom box.

The tissue paper box was a lot of fun. After tearing the pieces up I smeared paste all over the top and pressed it into the pile. Next, I glued each little piece on one at a time, making sure to bunch them and make them stick up. It made me think of a pinata, and I think I have an idea for Adam's next birthday party!

You can find decorations just about anywhere, I got these little pink flowers from the back yard and glued them on with Elmers.

A simple stamp cut from a potato and some craft paint also can also dress up your box.

Although I'm skipping this part, lining the boxes is very easy with white craft paper and a little bit of Elmers glue. I don't recommend paste for that, too messy!

Once the boxes dry, they are very sturdy and will hold of for several years (I attest!) to your kids beating them, kicking them, stepping on them and all sorts of abuse.